Langerholc's Section 8 resolution passes Senate

Dave Sutor, The Tribune-Democrat, Johnstown, Pa.
·3 min read

May 4—HARRISBURG, Pa. — The Pennsylvania Senate passed a resolution on Tuesday asking the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to address the issue of "porting" within the federal Section 8 voucher rental assistance program.

The chamber voted 29-21 in favor of the measure that was introduced by state Sen. Wayne Langerholc Jr., R-Richland Township.

"Porting" is the ability of a qualified low-income applicant to receive a Section 8 HUD subsidy from a housing authority and then move outside of the jurisdiction of that issuing authority.

Langerholc is concerned that policy has helped foster a transient population in Johnstown.

"This abuse of housing vouchers is creating a strain on the Johnstown community," Langerholc said in a released statement. "It burdens our schools and health and human services providers. Our police are seeing a large number of cases from offenders who don't live in our area.

"We welcome any individual who wants to come to Cambria County to live, work and raise a family. But I won't stand by while this program is abused to distort the intent of housing aid and disrupt the lives of long-term residents."

The resolution will now be considered by the state House of Representatives.

"I don't know what's going to happen in the House," Langerholc said during a telephone interview.

Langerholc feels portability also has a negative affect on the Johnstown Housing Authority.

In many cases, the local agency that issues a voucher, such as the JHA, remains financially responsible for the recipient's payments even though the person no longer lives in the area.

Langerholc's resolution stated: "By way of illustration, individuals are using the Johnstown Housing Authority to bypass the Philadelphia Housing Authority's waiting list by moving to Johnstown and obtaining a voucher merely to port back to Philadelphia."

He provided details about how JHA spent $1,520,457 in 2019 to cover outgoing porting costs and $1,791,360 in 2020. The amount went down to $789,297 in 2021 after the Philadelphia Housing Authority absorbed 62 families and the Delaware County Housing Authority absorbed 73 families, meaning the JHA was no longer responsible for the payments.

But, as explained in the measure, "In 2022, the Philadelphia Housing Authority decided to reverse its decision to absorb families from the Johnstown Housing Authority resulting in the Johnstown Housing Authority being forced to pay the Philadelphia Housing Authority for those who ported out of the Johnstown Housing Authority."

The resolution also mentioned that more than 600 students have entered or left the Greater Johnstown School District so far this academic year. However, exactly how many of those students live in Section 8 housing or public housing is not publicly known at this time.

Last week, during a visit to Johnstown, HUD Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Matthew Heckles discussed portability during an interview, following a private roundtable with more than 30 representatives from community organizations. Heckles called portability "one of the core principles of the program."

As part of an email interview on Wednesday, Johnstown Housing Authority Executive Director Mike Alberts wrote: "HUD is well aware of portability activities in our area, where the program is working as intended. This process allows a greater choice of where to live, as dozens of families each year successfully port in and out of Cambria County."